CEBU CITY, Philippines — “Respect other people’s rights and protect women and children who are vulnerable to abuses.”
This is the appeal of Fernando Gubalane, regional prosecutor and chairperson of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) in Central Visayas, to the public.
Gubalane made the appeal after the culmination of IACAT’s 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW) at the Cebu Port Authority in Cebu City on December 12.
Gubalane cited data about violence against women in the Philippines from the National Demographic Health Survey in 2017 and released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The survey showed that 1 in 4 Filipino women, aged 15 to 49, had experienced physical, emotional or sexual violence from their husband or partner.
Gubalane said that violence on women would most likely to happen at their home, where no one could witness the incident.
Aside from this, women are afraid to report to authorities, especially if they experienced violence and abuses from their own husband or partner.
He said that neighbors were also afraid to report these kind of incidents to the authorities, because they did not want to intervene in other people’s family life.
In Central Visayas, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has already recorded more than 800 women who are victims of trafficking based on their latest data this year.
Lilibeth Cabiara, focal person on women of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-7, says the department is helping at least 600 women and kids who had been victims of abuse. | Futch Anthony Inso
Lilibeth Cabiara, focal person on women of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-7, also revealed that since 2016 up to present, the agency had already helped 616 women and children who are victims of violence and abuses.
She said that they were victims of rape and act of lasciviousness cases, trafficking and cyber pornography, among others.
Cabiara said that these women and children would have to undergo several interventions and family assessments before they would be returned to the community.
She said this was to ensure that they would no longer experience the same violence and abuses.
Meanwhile, Gubalane said that the IACAT’s 18 day campaign to end violence against women aimed to protect women by giving them knowledge about their rights.
The campaign started on November 25, where the council conducted several activities such as consultations and presentation of advocacy materials from different stakeholders such as national government agencies, local government units (LGUs) and non-government organizations (NGOs).
The activity is mandated under Proclamation No. 1172 series of 2006 and Republic Act 10398 or the Act declaring November 25 of every year as the National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of VAWC.
The United Nations (UN) defines VAW as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
Global estimates by the World Heath Organization indicate that about 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner or non-partner in their lifetime./dbs